Shared Physical Custody After Parental Separation: Evidence from Germany

Abstract

Multilocal, dual residence or shared parenting arrangements after parental separation are increasingly discussed in many countries because they seem best suited to allow for more equally shared parental roles and children’s equal access to both (biological) parents. So far, there is little information about shared physical custody in Germany. The present research uses the second wave from a large German survey “Growing up in Germany” (2013–2015) to investigate the prevalence, preconditions, as well as possible outcomes of shared physical custody after separation. The sample comprises 1042 children (below age 18) with separated parents (maternal report). Measured by children’s overnight stays with each parent, less than 5% of these children lived in a dual residence arrangement (50:50 up to 60:40% of time with either parent). Shared physical custody was more likely if maternal and paternal residence were in close proximity, and if the mother had higher levels of education. As expected, shared physical custody was more likely if the parents had a positive cooperative (co-parenting) relationship while co-parenting problems did not seem to have independent effects. The findings are discussed with respect to other research addressing issues of self-selection into different parenting arrangements and the still limited role of shared physical custody in Germany in facilitating more equal gender roles.

Post-Separation Physical Custody Arrangements in Germany: Examining Sociodemographic Correlates, Parental Coparenting, and Child Adjustment

“…Prior evidence suggests that separated parents' choice of post-separation physical custody is linked to resources and barriers at the contextual, family, and individual levels (for an overview see Walper et al 2021).…”

“…Contextual factors have an influence on the choice of custody arrangements after separation. For instance, legal and institutional conditions seem to affect how many and what kind of post-separation families opt into SPC (Walper et al 2021). This can be explained by the impact of social institutions on individuals' life courses, which is a key hallmark of the life course perspective (Elder and Shanahan 2006).…”

“…Among children living in primarily sole care arrangements, about 21% of the children reported having no contact with the father and somewhat less than half of the children had at least weekly contact with their non-residential father (48%). A good quarter (about 27%) had infrequent contact with the non-residential father (Walper et al 2021). Köppen et al (2020) reported a slightly higher prevalence of SPC (about 12%) for Germany.…”

“…Shared physical custody (SPC) after separation and divorce has become a widely debated issue, not only in family law, but also in social science research in many countries (Walper et al 2021). Given the intensive debate about the pros and cons of shared postseparation care, a large number of studies focuses on the outcomes of SPC compared to more traditional sole physical custody arrangements, particularly with regard to children's well-being (e.g., Nielsen 2018;Baude et al 2016;Hjern et al 2021b).…”

“…SPC is particularly prevalent in Sweden, with a share of around 30% of children whose parents are separated. This high proportion is possibly due to the fact that Sweden supports more egalitarian gender roles in the family system and allows family courts to order SPC in cases of post-separation legal conflict (Vanassche et al 2017;Walper et al 2021). Reforms to family law in Australia (Fehlberg et al 2011) and Belgium (Sodermans et al 2013) in the first decade of the new millennium have also implemented and strengthened SPC as the legal norm.…”